Fuel injection valves have been proposed in which the valve itself is a needle valve and includes an electrical switching function by placing an insulating layer between the needle shaft and the guide bore within the valve body so that, when the needle is seated in the valve body, a closed electrical circuit is established between the needle and the valve body and, when the needle is lifted off the valve body, permitting injection of fuel, the circuit is broken. The change in the electrical circuit state of the valve provides an output signal which can be analyzed to provide a feedback signal representative of valve operation. It has been suggested to provide an insulating layer between the needle shaft or needle body of the needle valve and its guide bore in form of a wear-resistant plastic material. Such valves, however, apparently would be very difficult to make since the composition of the plastic material, application thereof, and the tolerance range would be difficult to maintain under industrial mass production conditions.